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View Poll Results: Can a person "Become" racist due to events and circumstances?

Re: Can you "Become" Racist?

Originally Posted by The Mark

What can people be then?

Asian.

You can be more specific and say East Asian for Chinese, Korean, and Japanese people; you can say Southeast Asian for Thai Or Malaysian; South Asian = from the Indian subcontinent, including India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, etc.

Calling an Indian person Asian is accurate, but obviously it's also fine to call them Indian.

Orient is the classical reference for the geography of East Asia and especially China, but you don't call people Oriental. They also used to call the area of China and India the "East Indes" but that too was phased out. A lot of East Asians find being called Oriental offensive.

Re: Can you "Become" Racist?

Originally Posted by Orion

A lot of East Asians find being called Oriental offensive.

You must give me a reason beyond "the term also describes objects, food and art from the region", I think. And "you can refer to them as east asians also" doesn't really cut mustard intellectually either.

We have American cars, food, culture and people. I'd prefer it were "USian", but I don't find "American" to be derogatory; that'd just be snobbish. So, why is it derogatory (or offensive)? Give me a sound reason.

I was impressed by your first post despite you overlooking other possible factors in their behavior, which is rather suspicious in the first place but could be naivety. The naivety excuse (for ignoring factors beyond race in your assessment of a people) is difficult to accept because you have travelled - and that usually gives a bit of perspective. And now you cannot support this claim about 'oriental' at all - what's going on?

Re: Can you "Become" Racist?

Originally Posted by ecofarm

You must give me a reason beyond "the term also describes objects, food and art from the region", I think. And "you can refer to them as east asians also" doesn't really cut mustard intellectually either.

We have American cars, food, culture and people. I'd prefer it were "USian", but I don't find "American" to be derogatory; that'd just be snobbish.

So, why is it derogatory (or offensive)? Give me a sound reason. I was impressed by your first post (despite overlooking other possible factors in their behavior, which is rather suspicious but could be naivety), and now you cannot support this claim about 'oriental' at all - what's going on?

A simple internet search will reveal to you that the word "oriental" when applied to an Asian person is seen as a pejorative, but my knowledge doesn't come from the internet. I've lived in Asia a couple of times now . Calling them "orientals" came in style during the British colonial era, just like calling them the Chinese came into practice because of the fine China produced there, but the Chinese don't call temselves that at all.

You'll just have to trust me. Since you can't speak their language and refer to them by what they call themselves, the most polite thing is to just call them Asian.

Re: Can you "Become" Racist?

So it is because of the British use of the term, to include while in the region specifically. Fine, I can see that. I'm not British, so excuse me.

Then you honestly did simply forget to consider other sources (besides race) for a group's behaviour? To think that looks and not culture or goverment determine a people's behavior is rather unusal for someone of some travel. That you thought in the first place that race is an important factor (a factor at all) is kinda messed up. And you pretty much wrote it all off to that, while you were there.

I can't figure out if you are a Chinese person trying to apologize for their government and culture ("I've been there and it's really not so bad"). Or a racist (someone who assumes race would be the main factor in a people's behavior) trying to do I don't know what (reform?).

No offence, I'm not actually accusing anyone of anything... I'm sure it is just my confusion and limited knowledge. But it doesn't make sense to me.

Are you a Chinese racist trying to apologize for tyranny?? - I'm just joking that sentence. -

Re: Can you "Become" Racist?

Originally Posted by ecofarm

So it is because of the British use of the term, to include while in the region specifically. Fine, I can see that. I'm not British, so excuse me.

Then you honestly did simply forget to consider other sources (besides race) for a group's behaviour? To think that looks and not culture or goverment determine a people's behavior is rather unusal for someone of some travel. That you thought in the first place that race is an important factor (a factor at all) is kinda messed up. And you pretty much wrote it all off to that, while you were there.

I can't figure out if you are a Chinese person trying to apologize for their government and culture ("I've been there and it's really not so bad"). Or a racist (someone who assumes race would be the main factor in a people's behavior) trying to do I don't know what (reform?).

No offence, I'm not actually accusing anyone of anything... I'm sure it is just my confusion and limited knowledge. But it doesn't make sense to me. Are you a Chinese racist trying to apologize for tyranny?? Just kidding.

I think you're reading into what I said way too much.

All I'm saying is that saying a person is oriental is incorrect.

Everything else is incidental. And my life is very connected to China because of the field I'm in, and the fact that I speak their language, but the beginning was not easy. FYI I am caucasian.